Image of the Air Force wings with the museum name underneath

Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week
FREE Admission & Parking

EXHIBIT & EVENTS
           JUNE 6


The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will commemorate the 75th Anniversary of D-Day with one day full of events, as well as a temporary augmented reality (AR) exhibit.
 

The event on Thursday, June 6 2019 will include a flyover, wreath laying, living history re-enactors, WWII-era vehicles, collection displays and D-Day films.

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Schedule:

9:00 a.m. – 5 p.m.            Commemoration Activities
                                          - D-Day Trivia in WWII Gallery
                                          - Artifact Displays in WWII Gallery
                                          - Post Card with Stamp Cancellation
                                             available in Building 2

10:00 a.m.                         Wreath Laying Ceremony
                                          with WWII military vehicles
                                          and C-47 flyover

                                          Location: Memorial Park

 

12:00 p.m.                         “D-Day: Normandy 1944” movie ($)
                                            Location: Air Force Museum Theatre

 

12:15 p.m. – 5 p.m.            Re-enactors representing the
                                            101st Airborne Division
                                            Location: WWII Gallery

 

4:00 p.m.                            “D-Day: Normandy 1944” movie ($)
                                            Location: Air Force Museum Theatre

 

6:30 p.m.                            Living History Series movie ($)
                                             sneak peek of "Sunken Roads:
                                             Three Generations after D-Day"
                                            Guest speakers: WWII D-Day veterans
                                            Location: Air Force Museum Theatre

                                         Article about documentary

(schedule of events is subject to change)

Participating Groups

Aircraft

C-47 “Sky King” from Mid America Flight Museum 
in Mt. Pleasant, TX

C-47 from Vintage Wings in Terra Haute, IN

Vintage Military Vehicles

1941 Willys Jeep
1941 M2 Halftrack
1942 WC-56 Dodge Command Car
1944 Willys MB Jeep
1945 GMC 6x6 truck
1945 Willys MB Jeep
1949 Willys Jeep
WC25 Dodge Command Car


Living History Re-enactors

Representing the 101st Airborne Division,
502 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion,
B Company and I Company

D-Day Event Map

Entrance and Parking

The entrance to the National Museum of the United States Air Force is on Springfield Street at historic Wright Field (Gate 28B), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, six miles northeast of Dayton, Ohio. Admission and parking are FREE. The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. 

The museum's address is: 
1100 Spaatz Street
Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433

Phone Number: (937) 255-3286

D-Day Historical Notes


On June 6, 1944, Allied forces launched a combined naval, air and land assault on Nazi-occupied France. More than 150,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of heavily fortified French coast. This marked the start of Operation Overlord – a long costly campaign to liberate northwest Europe from German occupation. This risky invasion of France’s Normandy region later became known as the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe or simply “D-Day”.

  • Shortly after midnight on June 6, more than 13,000 Allied paratroopers dropped behind the invasion beaches where they secured bridges and exit ramps from the beaches, providing tactical support for the troops hitting the beaches that morning.
  • The amphibious landings began at 6:30 a.m. The British and Canadians captured beaches codenamed Gold, Juno and Sword. U.S. forces captured beaches codenamed Utah and Omaha. The heaviest resistance was encountered at Omaha Beach.
  • Allied fighters, bombers and transport aircraft flew over 8,700 sorties in support of the landings.

On D-Day, the U.S. Army Air Forces contribution was unprecedented in its concentration and phenomenal in its size. In total, 8,722 aircraft were dispatched by the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces.  

On that single day:

  • 1,789 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers (B-17s and B-24s) dropped 3,596 tons of bombs on coastal batteries, shore defenses, and transportation check points.
  • Eighth AF fighters (P-51s, P-47s, P-38s) flew 1,880 sorties attacking 17 bridges, 10 marshalling yards, and dozens of other targets. They destroyed 28 German aircraft, 21 locomotives, and hundreds of armored vehicles, rail cars, and supplies.
  • 800 medium bombers (A-20s and B-26s) of the Ninth Air Force bombed coastal defenses, railroad junctions, troop concentrations, and bridges.
  • 1,400 transport aircraft (C-47s, C-53s) and gliders (CG-4As) delivered two full airborne divisions (more than 13,000 men) behind enemy lines, many at night in advance of the beach landings. 450 of the troop carrier planes returned with damage, and 41 failed to return.
  • More than 2,000 Ninth AF fighters (P-38s, P-47s, P-51s) escorted the bombers and transports, and provided close air support to invasion forces on the ground. 

Security Notice

Please note that for security reasons, all visitors may be screened with a metal detector upon entry. In addition, all bags are subject to search and may be placed through an X-Ray machine. Weapons are not permitted to include pocket knives with a blade over 2 ½ inches in length. Please click the triangle for a full list of prohibited items.
  • Visitor Photography Notice

    Notice: Visitors may be filmed, photographed or recorded by the U.S. Air Force for educational and promotional uses, including for posting on public websites and social media.  
    Individuals are permitted to take their own photographs or videos while touring the museum.

Media Registration

Media interested in covering the events must register by
3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 5.

Click here to complete a registration form.

Interactive augmented Reality Exhibit


"D-Day: Freedom from Above"

In honor of the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, the Air Force Museum Foundation will open a new, fully interactive augmented reality (AR) experience focusing on the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions and their missions during D-Day.

This limited-time exhibit utilizes tablets running the innovative technology "HistoPad", designed by the French company Histovery. The HistoPad is an interactive tablet which immerses the visitor in the history of Sainte-Mère-Église, France, during the Occupation and the summer of 1944. Through spectacular scientifically- and historically-validated 360° recreations, museum visitors will travel in time to understand the key moments of this decisive battle for the success of D-Day.

The roughly 3,500 square foot exhibit is designed around Allied unit insignia, the exhibit will feature twelve physical panels that guide visitors through the experience. The HistoPad allows the visitor to manipulate a series of 3D virtual relics, view unpublished photographs and extracts of exceptional archival films, interact with animated maps, and learn the incredible destinies of some of our nation’s D-Day heroes.

Brought to you by the Air Force Museum Foundation, this exhibit will be open from May 13 through the end of the year. It will take approximately 40 minutes to tour the D-Day exhibit. Cost $5 per tablet. Tablets may be rented between 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Click here for an information packet about the exhibit.

(click image for a video overview of the exhibit)

Making the connection


Below is a list of aircraft, exhibits, and memorials on display at the museum that have a connection to D-Day.

Aircraft:
B-17
B-24
P-51
P-47 (Bubble Canopy)
P-47 (Razorback)
P-38
A-20
B-26
C-47
CG-4A glider
DH-98

Spitfire
L-2
L-3
L-4
L-5

Exhibits:
D-Day Support
D-Day Paratrooper Uniform
Glider Pilots: Silent Wings
Flak 36 88mm Multipurpose Gun
Winged Angels: USAAF Flight Nurses in WWII
Operation Overlord
(coming May 2019)

Memorials:
8th Air Force
9th Air Force
7 Photo Group
20 Fighter Group
34 Bomb Group
36 Bomb  Squadron Radar Counter Measure Unit 
44 Bomb Group
50 Troop Carrier Squadron
78 Fighter Group
91 Bomb Group
92 Bomb Group
93 Bomb Group
94 Bomb Group
95 Bomb Group
96 Bomb Group
100 Bomb Group
303 Bomb Group
305 Bomb Group
305 Bomb Group
306 Bomb Group
314 Air Transport Squadron
315 Troop Carrier Group
316 Troop Carrier Group
322 Bomb Group
339 Fighter Group
351 Bomb Group
352 Fighter Group
353 Fighter Group
355 Fighter Group
356 Fighter Group
357 Fighter Group
359 Fighter Group
364 Fighter Group
379 Bomb Group
381 Bomb Group
383/384/385 Fighter Squadrons
384 Bomb Group
385 Bomb Group
388 Bomb Group
389 Bomb Group
390 Bomb Group
392 Bomb Group
398 Bomb Group
401 Bomb Group
405 Fighter Group
405 Fighter Group - 510 Fighter Squadron
409 Bomb Group
410 Bomb Group
416 Bomb Group

434 Bomb Group
445 Combat Group
446 Bomb Group
447 Bomb Group
448 Bomb Group
453 Bomb Group
457 Bomb Group
458 Bomb Group
466 Bomb Group
467 Bomb Group
474 Fighter Group
479 Fighter Group
486 Bomb Group
486 Bomb Squadron
487 Bomb Group
489 Bomb Group
490 Bomb Group
491 Bomb Group
492 Bomb Group
493 Bomb Group

(click for list and map of memorials)

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